A report calls on Canada to channel humanitarian aid through non-governmental organizations to avoid the State.
14ymedio, Havana, February 27, 2026 – “We are facing the end of a historic cycle in Cuba. Either the decision is made to prolong the decay and with it the agony of the Cuban people, or to help find a peaceful and reasonable political solution to the current situation,” declared Yaxys Cires, Director of Strategy at the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH), during a debate at the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Canada last Tuesday.
Cires urged the Government of Canada to pursue “a coordinated international response” to promote in Cuba “a real economic and political opening,” centered on freedoms, private initiative, and respect for human rights.
“Only structural, not cosmetic, change will allow the Cuban people to regain hope and build their own future,” he emphasized.
Regarding Canada’s recent announcement of humanitarian assistance—the sending of $5.85 million for food through the World Food Programme and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef)—Cires requested that the support be organized “directly to the Cuban population, with emphasis on the most vulnerable sectors,” and that it be channeled “through churches and independent civil society, to ensure its effective delivery.”
The activist also urged Ottawa, together with other investing countries, to demand that Cuban authorities modify the current labor regime in the area of foreign investment. Cires recalled that the model imposed in this sector prevents direct hiring by companies and instead requires contracting through state entities that can appropriate up to 90% of salaries, which “systematically violates workers’ rights and impoverishes them.” A recent investigation revealed that this was the case for Cuban workers employed by the mining company Sherritt in various countries, including Canada itself.
The OCDH representative also referred to the more than 800 prisoners of conscience and their families, reiterating that the causes of the current economic and political crisis are structural. Furthermore, Cires stressed that the deterioration of hospitals, the shortage of medical supplies, the collapse of housing, the increase in blackouts, and the accumulation of garbage in the streets are the result of “decades of failed policies.”
“We are not speaking of a temporary or circumstantial crisis, nor of external roots. These are the natural consequences of a planned economic model that concentrates most means of production in the hands of the State, provides no legal certainty, and suffocates economic and social freedom,” he stated.
These are the natural consequences of a planned economic model that concentrates most means of production in the hands of the State.
Representatives of other organizations also participated in the hearing of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Canada, including Carolina Barrero Ferrer, of Citizenship and Freedom; John Suárez, of the Center for a Free Cuba; and Kirenia Carbonell, of the Cuban-Canadian Coalition.
Carbonell, for her part, stated: “Canada must stand with the Cuban people, not by legitimizing a repressive status quo, but by aligning its policy with transparency, accountability, and human dignity.” Regarding humanitarian aid, she warned that it “cannot be effectively managed in a country where independent civil society is criminalized and distribution is monopolized by the same structures responsible for the crisis.
The inconsistency of Canada’s foreign policy has also recently been questioned by Democratic Spaces in collaboration with Human Rights Action Group, in an extensive report published by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute on February 24 and signed by Michael Lima, Isabelle Terranova, and Sarah Teich.
The report denounces that Canada’s foreign policy toward Cuba is inconsistent with its own democratic values and human rights advocacy, and it makes ten “concrete recommendations” for modifying its position regarding Cuba.
“It is time for Ottawa to align its policy toward Cuba with its stated commitment to human rights, democratic governance, and the rule of law,” the authors emphasize.
As the basis for their argument, they first analyze the Cuban State as an authoritarian regime, its alliance with other repressive regimes, and the implications of those alliances for global democracy.
They point out that Cuba is a single-party system with no real opposition, no independent press, and no autonomous civil society. Elections function as rituals of legitimization, and candidates not approved by the Communist Party are excluded or detained.
The authors denounce that economic power is concentrated in military conglomerates, such as Gaesa, which control strategic sectors and channel foreign investment toward institutions linked to the Armed Forces.
The authors denounce that economic power is concentrated in military conglomerates, such as Gaesa, which control strategic sectors and channel foreign investment toward institutions linked to the Armed Forces.
The report adds that the Cuban Penal Code criminalizes virtually all forms of dissent through ambiguous legal categories such as “false news” or “public disorder.” As a result, by the end of 2025, more than one thousand political prisoners were recorded, along with reports of torture, prolonged isolation, and deaths in custody. They also note that the State monopolizes internet infrastructure, uses Chinese technology for surveillance and control, and blocks access arbitrarily, as occurred during protests, especially on July 11, 2021.
In addition to the regime’s domestic policy, the report describes the Cuban Government as a central ally in an international authoritarian network, with strategic relations with Russia, Iran, North Korea, China, and Venezuela. In particular, it highlights the historic Cold War alliance with Russia, reactivated under Putin, and a serious aspect of this relationship: the systematic recruitment of thousands of Cubans for the war in Ukraine, under conditions resembling human trafficking.
For these reasons, the authors state, “Canada cannot afford to maintain its inconsistent approach toward Cuba while claiming to be a leader in human rights and democratic governance.”
Among their recommendations to Ottawa regarding its foreign policy, they indicate that the Canadian Government should create a regional policy in Latin America that recognizes Cuba’s role as a driver of authoritarianism.
They call for ending its pattern of voting against resolutions that seek to hold Cuba accountable for human rights abuses, and they recommend implementing targeted sanctions—under the Magnitsky Act or the Special Economic Measures Act—against Cuban officials responsible for torture, repression of protests, rigged trials, and campaigns of surveillance and intimidation.
They call for investigating the recruitment of Cubans for the war in Ukraine and publicly condemning these practices, assessing whether they constitute human trafficking, and promoting sanctions or legal action if confirmed.
The authors also state that Canada should demand the release of political prisoners and publicly call for the immediate release of the more than one thousand detainees held for political reasons.
They recommend requiring the Cuban Government to grant legal status to NGOs and autonomous groups so that humanitarian aid reaches the population directly.
On the economic front, they call for strengthening responsible business conduct and warning Canadian companies that investing in Cuba means operating with military conglomerates.
Regarding control and surveillance, they urge helping Cubans circumvent digital censorship and internet shutdowns by facilitating access to information and secure communication, and ensuring that the Canadian Embassy in Havana maintains real and regular contact with activists and independent organizations.
Finally, they recommend requiring the Cuban Government to grant legal status to non-governmental organizations and autonomous groups so that humanitarian aid reaches the population directly, without passing through the state apparatus.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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